Apple’s environmental credentials were front and center in the iPhone 15 event thanks to a lengthy and somewhat cringeworthy skit (making an unfunny video with Octavia Spencer is kind of an achievement in itself, but I guess that’s what happens when you commission a sketch during a writers’ strike).
A new piece says that the company’s actions and commitments put it way ahead of major rivals, but the elephant in the room is the annual product cycle for iPhones …
CNET acknowledges that Apple is way ahead of key rival Samsung.
For its part, Apple made a commitment to decarbonize its supply chain by 2030. The company reports that 300 suppliers have already pledged to use clean energy, and this number has steadily increased over the years. Apple is also actively encouraging other companies to participate in its Supplier Clean Energy Program, which aims to power all suppliers with 100% renewable electricity […]
By comparison, Samsung announced its goal of achieving carbon neutrality and 100% renewable energy use by 2050. But the South Korean company has stopped short of extending that commitment to its supply chain, which is part of Scope 3 emissions as defined by the GHG Protocol.
“Samsung talks a lot about sustainability, but the reality is that Samsung’s smartphone manufacturing process is powered in large part by fossil fuels, including coal,” Greenpeace told CNET just after Samsung’s Unpacked promotional event in July. “While Samsung has achieved 100% renewable energy in the US, China and Europe, the vast majority of the company’s manufacturing operations are located in South Korea, where Samsung has made little progress in the transition to clean energy” […]
Chinese rivals Huawei and Xiaomi provide little to no information about the environmental cost of creating their smartphones. Google started to do so more recently, but its Pixel 7 Pro has higher carbon lifecycle emissions than Apple.
But Greenpeace says that so far Apple’s supplier sustainability talk is just that.
“It’s important to remember that not a single one of Apple’s major suppliers has achieved 100% renewable energy across its own operations,” said Greenpeace East Asia campaigner Xueying Wu.
“Suppliers, such as Foxconn and Samsung Electronics, have been transitioning to renewable energy far too slowly […] The renewable energy ratio of some key suppliers, such as GoerTek, Foxconn, TSMC and so on, is below 11%.”
If you look at the total lifetime carbon emissions of an iPhone, about 80% of it is during production. Apple itself says that, for the iPhone 14 Pro, manufacturing accounts for 81% of the 65 kg total carbon output.
This, argues CNET’s Sareena Dayaram, is where Apple’s environmental credentials fall over. While production may be cleaner than ever before, the iPhone maker aggressively encourages consumers to constantly buy new models.
With each new iPhone release, tens of millions of people around the world are enticed to upgrade, even if the changes are relatively minor […]
If Apple was truly prioritizing the environment, it might encourage extended device use and consider lengthening the time between major releases.
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